F O L L O W by E M A I L

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Monday, May 02, 2011

room tour: kitchen

here's a look at what we did in our kitchen!

we started with something pretty unattractive, which was good b/c there were pretty slim chances of us stumbling across a home "exactly" the way we wanted. we knew we were going to rip out and start fresh. we just didn't want to have to move plumbing more than a couple of feet or so, so we'd keep our budget in check!

a before, when we toured the house:

- liked the basic layout, but hated the blonde cabinets and hated the sink on the angle!! really didn't like the fact that there wasn't enough space between the island and the cabinets either.....don't know how that passed building inspections!

- things are happenin'!

so what did we do???

well:

chipped out the old subfloor so we could install new hardwood. it was glued down so it literally came out 1 square inch at a time. ryan was super pumped about that! kids had to be out of the room for that job! he wasn't too happy.... :)

chipped off the old tile

moved the plumbing a couple feet, so we could move the sink

assembled and installed ikea cabinets

painted

installed new countertops.....starron (similar to corian)

new sink, tap, hood fan

installed a new backsplash

installed new lighting. didn't want the massive job of hacking into the ceiling and moving the electricity around, so left everything in place and made do

installed new baseboards and trim

{we did everything ourselves, except move the plumbing and install the countertop}

i'm tired just typing that list and thinking back to the disaster that was our house for a while there!

the reveal:

wall color: paper white, benjamin moore

something we did - that was completely PRACTICAL and not PRETTY, was change the shelving in the pantry! made it deeper and got rid of that wire shelving. it's not a wallpapered, pretty baskets, cans lined up perfectly and a "can you believe how amazing my pantry is - look?!" it's an everyday, better use of space - look! but for fun, i changed the light!

feels so much lighter and brighter to me! is so much white hard to live with, you ask?! the honest answer is these cabinets are the easiest cabinets to live with, i've ever had! foil finish.... as for the flooring.....yes it's more work, as in more sweeping...etc....but like all things, if you love it, it's worth it! dark floors are work to keep clean too, in my experience, so no biggie!

b/c we didn't move the electrical, we weren't able to center the chandelier over the sink, which drives me a little crazy! we also don't have little pot lights. but i'll live....

i'm not a fabulous seamstress, so don't look too closely at the sewing job on the island chairs! but, i just made some slipcovers for ikea chairs. they originally were in white fabric which was not forgiving enough to live with! dark, busy fabric is a much better choice for kids!